> why not attribute it to Churchill anyhow?

Because it isn't true. Was the irony intentional?

Apparently [0] it's from Roosevelt’s secretary of state, Cordell Hull.

[0] https://richardlangworth.com/galloping-lie , also https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/oct/09...

The original original is from Jonathan Swift: "Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead."

Indeed, that's why, as Swift insists, we have to "Speak Now" !

A little "factoid" I like is that Aristotle believed men had more teeth than women, and even gave a reasoned argument for why. But he never felt the need to count teeth, because his reasoning was just so good.

Did Aristotle really do this? I've never looked it up, but it does match his reliance on reasoned arguments to arrive at objective truths. :-P

Wikipedia tells me it's true, and beyond that, was one his less wacky ideas on women. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle%27s_views_on_women#D...